


Un Extranjero Amiguero

by K9Leo



Series: La Amistad [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bilingual Character(s), Character(s) of Color, Comfort, F/M, Female Character of Color, Fluff, He's a Dodgers Fan, Hispanic!Reader, Hurt, Latina!reader, New York City, Reader-Insert, Self-Insert, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Steve would probably hate the Yankees, Super-Powered Reader, spanglish, x Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 09:57:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21318307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K9Leo/pseuds/K9Leo
Summary: "Año nuevo, vida nueva"[Translation: New Year, new life.]...Oneshot. Part of a slow-burn Latina!Reader/Steve Rogers series.In which a somewhat fed up super-powered Latina!Reader ends up befriending a lonely blond gym rat named Steve. Together, they deal with rough emotions, baseball and more importantly, la amistad.Friendship.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: La Amistad [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536847
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30





	Un Extranjero Amiguero

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Welcome to my first published online writing! 😄
> 
> I have read on AO3 for years and after some encouragement from my sis, I decided to write and publish online some of my stories that have been on my mind for a while. 
> 
> You know, I rarely seen much of super-heroines when growing up, nevermind Latina super-heroines. I especially hate the sexualization we get as women of color, especially on media. We're just people trying to make it through this world like anyone else.
> 
> And I want to write a story about that. A story about an average Latina doing her everyday things.
> 
> Especially one who is super-powered.
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoy my story and without further ado, lets begin!

You’re at the gym, in the lower levels, underground. You’re with your not-blood-cousin, Mateo or “Teo” for short. He’s also your best friend. You guys partly grew up together as kids with a small break during teenage-hood and college. Now you were besties again post-college and roommates to hoot.

For the past few minutes, Teo was demonstrating punches and kicks to an old punching bag that must have been here since the forties. Sweat dripped down his dark bronze skin. It was the third time this week he managed to get you out of the house and into the gym, downstairs where there was no one.

Save for the lone buff quiet blond guy in the corner.

“He’s the residential gym rat.” Was all that Teo would say about him when you first came here. “Oh, and also, his name is Steve. He really likes working out. Not the social type. Nice guy though, gave me great pointers on how to improve my swings.”

“Alright, cool.” You mumbled as Teo spoke once again, trying to get you into the swing of things on Day 1.

It was Day 3 at the gym now.

Even Steve had joined in to help you. The gym rat himself set up your punching bag for you this time.

“Thanks Steve.” You said.

“My pleasure.” He gave you a shy smile and a tiny wave as you debated whether his cheeks had gotten redder as he walked away. Even his ears were pink!

Was that normal for White guys when they worked out?

Then Teo began, teaching his movements and swings.

“Hu-hu-hu-hu. And then you strike again like so. Hu-hu-hu-hu.” Teo sang, performing uppercuts, hooks and- “Finish off with a strong kick-HA.” The bag went flying sideways before he grabbed it, ending its’ momentum. “And that’s how I release my anger and all that other bad stuff for the day.”

“You have a lot of anger then.” You smirked at him as he playfully rolled his gray eyes.

“It’s a way to get the blood pumping, let loose and just forget about the day and live in the now – which is what I’m trying to get you to do.”

A frown slipped on your face as you glanced down your taped hands. It was in your favorite color. You took in a deep breath and looked up.

“O-okay. I-I’m ready.” You weren’t. Teo taped up the picture of your ex on the bag. You paused, staring at what once was your lover as feelings of warmth filled you…before sorrow swept you a nanosecond later like a punch. Like always.

Followed by raw pain.

And the Dam Wall, leaving you an emotionless bot. You ate, spoke and laughed, wearing that mask. You refused to cry. Refused to be weak. And Teo got that.

But he also knew that you needed an outlet. He couldn’t convince you it was okay to cry. Working out however…

Your (not-blood) cousin knew you well.

The last two times, after doing a 10-minute run and a variation of burpees, push-ups and crunches, you both came down to the 40s’ boxing room. The first time you came, you just stood there, staring into the picture, giving baby taps, sniffles in between.

_Don’t cry_. You told yourself. _I refuse to cry over a stupid, pathetic guy_.

Last time, you gave half-heart kicks and only started hitting when he took the picture off. You didn’t even think, letting motions guide you, without feeling anything but the adrenaline that ran through your system.

It felt good.

Then you went home and felt sad. You refused to cry.

You don’t cry over losers.

Even if it became unhealthy.

You refused to admit that, even your powers were diminished, 6th sense numbed. Your powers themselves worked in parallel with your emotions. Emotional shut-down, power shut-down.

You didn’t need them. Emotions were for losers anyways. Not like you. Who needed powers? Not you.

Now, here you are. Day 8 since “The Walk-In”, Day 0 since you accidentally spotted him in the city streets, with his side-chick-who-was-now-his-main-chick. His girlfriend. Day 3 of going to the gym to punch out your emotions.

No sir-ee. You weren’t going to cry over a pathetic liar of a man.

So, you punched, kicked and swung instead.

You weren’t going to feel.

But you were also so damned tired.

You weren’t okay.

For once, you let the dam wall fell. A red-hot furious river soared through your body, anger filled you to the top, as you landed in your first jab, where you would imagine his gut would be.

“This is for lying to me!”

**DUM! **

“This is for telling me you loved me while seeing another girl behind my back.”

**JAB. **

“Th-this. This is fo-for no-not being there for me when I needed you!”

**KICK. **

**PUNCH.**

** JAB. **

**KICK. **

“An-and. Fuck You!” You collapsed down to your knees, giving one last punch. Sniffles filled your nose, breaths coming in and out as your vision clouded. You closed your eyes and sat down on your butt, hugging your knees, hiding your face in between your arms. You were safe in your self-made human ball. Warmth filled your sides as tears fell down your cheeks, like little streams that refused to be damned up as circles were rubbed into your back.

“There, there. Cry it all out.” Teo said.

“I-I do-don’t want t-to. He do-doesn’t deserve me cr-crying o-over h-him. H-he’s a baboso.”

“But you do.” A different voice chimed. You paused your breathing as you looked up to see the blond boxer sat across from you, sweat dripping down his hair and face. Blue eyes reserved but determined. “You’re not crying for him. You’re crying for you. For your hurt.” He spoke, like some wise sage.

You sniffed and stared down, studying your arms and knees.

You hated emotions.

You hated feeling weak.

But you couldn’t help but cry and feel better about it.

Maybe, just this once.

It was okay to cry.

.................................

You came back again two days later, on Monday night. Steve, the blond boxer, was still there, hitting that punching bag with all that he was worth. This time, you were by yourself. You sat down, nearby, watching the show as he punched, jab and uppercut with all of his might before the chain broke and the bag went flying across to the other side of the room.

You whistled.

He spun back to you, blue eyes wide in surprised, before falling to a rather tired resignation. You scrunched your eyebrows in confusion.

“I’ll put a new chain and get the bag for you. I was on my way out anyways.” He said as he made his way to retrieve the yellowed bag.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” You spoke quietly, your voice filling the rather drearily room.

He snorted, a small smile on the corner of his lips as he made his way to pick up the fallen bag.

“Nonsense. I saw how you need the hits. _Frankly so do I._” He mumbled out the last part, but your abilities allowed you to hear better than a normal human being, as if he was next to you.

“Why do you need the hits?” You thought-out loud. He froze and immediately, you felt guilt and shame settle in your stomach.

_Stupid emotions. Stupid powers._ You felt yourself walling in, your senses dimming as usual when you mentally scolded yourself for making a simple mistake. _Why can’t I be normal?_ The world felt emptier as your 6th sense dulled to the point where you couldn’t even ‘see’ with your powers.

“I-I. I feel lost. And alone.” He stated.

This time, it was his emotions that was dammed up.

You felt the rush of power soar through you as your sixth sense, qi-fi as you liked to call it, awakened once more, letting you ‘sense’ the world around you again. Like you were a sonar receiving the signals around you, giving you a 3D visual in your mind. Or as Teo like to call it, echo-location, but with qi.

_Maybe, it wasn’t a mistake_. You felt your cheeks heat up as you asked,

“Why? Maybe I can help?”

Steve snorted, a pained smiled, filled his face as he walked back with the yellowed bag.

“You can’t fix the past.”

Your eyebrows scrunched in, “No, but talking about things will make you feel better. Maybe I can make you see things differently.”

He sighed. “I don’t think you can help.”

You snorted, smirking at him. “Try me.” You patted at the space next to you. Steve rolled his eyes, but he sat down next to you anyways, once the bag was put away in its small alcove.

He took in a deep breath, staring into nothing, before sighing.

“I…I was in a coma. For a few years.” He paused and glanced towards you.

“Uh-huh.” You nodded, hoping he would continue.

“Well…when I woke up…the world around me…it was different. Things were different. People were different. I have no family and friends right now and I’m just trying to…you know…survive? Make sense of things, for sure.” He paused, staring at his knees. “I’ve also lost my memory, so that doesn’t help things either.” He laughed, voice strained and sorrowful. “I don’t know what to make of myself right now. The gym here makes the most sense. I have a living space, but it feels like a cage. I live here more than at my apartment. At least here, I have something to do, something to look forward to.”

“Huh.” You frowned. From your qi-fi, you could sense he was lying (vibrations never lied), but it was a rather small lie in the whole complex of things of his truthful vibes. _‘He’s allowed to keep his secrets. I don’t blame him for doing so. What a terrible combo.’_ You thought. “Have you tried to catch up with the times yet? Maybe that might be a good start…to get reacquainted with the present world.”

Steve snorted. “That’s what the doc says, but I don’t feel too comfortable right now. I rather stick to what I know.”

“And what?!” You glared at him as he met your eyes. “You can’t live your whole life here! There’s a whole world out there! Waiting for you to explore it! And in what better place than in the greatest city in the world?!” You threw out your arms with a wide grin.

Instead of getting animated at your spiel, Steve huddled more into himself.

You sighed, dropping your arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you, but I also don’t like seeing you down like this. You deserve to live too you know? Especially after you helped me out.” You smiled when he locked eyes to you. “I want to make sure you’re doing well too Stev-o.” You gave a friendly pound to his shoulder with a lopsided smile. He snorted at that, with a small smile.

“Thanks…but I’m not ready just yet. In my own time.”

You nodded. You both sat down quietly, listening to the machines upstairs running.

“Maybe…you can show me around?” Steve face was rather pink as he looked down at you.

“It would be my pleasure.” You grinned. “Us New Yorkers have to look out for one another,” You elbowed him with a wink. “Besides, I can’t have my favorite gym rat burn himself out down here. There’s plenty to do! I know Mateo has some sweet tickets for a baseball game coming up. His girlfriend is out of town –a family emergency. You ever been to a subway series?”

Immediately his face lit up like it was the Fourth of July. “Have I ever! My favorite is when the Dodgers plays against the Giants. Gotta love ‘dem bums.” He laughed, grinning. You tilted your head in confusion.

“You never told me you’re from California.”. He frowned at that.

“I’m not from California. I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.”

“Huh.” Now you frowned at that …yet the vibes he gave off showed he wasn’t lying. He was telling truth. He was also definitely hit hard in the head. “There’s no Giants or Dodgers here. It’s just Mets and Yankees. The subway series is just them two against each other.” You said.

“What!?” The man looked completely baffled and heart torn. “What happened to the Dodgers!? And what’s a Mets???”

“You really are an amnesic.” You paused, studying his frighten eyes. You sent out comforting vibes as you laid your small hand over his. It was a trick you learned from Mateo. Calming his heart-rate might do him some good.

Especially for this type of news.

“They went to California in the 60s along with the Giants. I know a few old fellows still crying about it. The Yankees became the only New York team till the Mets came to Queens in the 60s and boy do they suck!” You laughed before stopping, seeing that Steve’s mouth was still opened. “You might want to close that. You don’t want to eat any flies. Trust me on that. Bleh.” You stuck your tongue out, making a face, remembering the bitterness of the unfortunate incident.

Steve sighed. “The world really had changed.” He laid back, his breathes even as the vibrations you sent him.

“Hey! It might not be such a bad thing. You should try it before you knock it. Unless of course, you wanna try and hide out the rest of your life here in your gym-nest.”

“Maybe I should.” He shrugged his shoulders, staring pensively to the wall across from you two.

GUEHWSERE.

You both sat up straight and glanced at the source when you heard it again. Your stomach growled. He looked at you in the eyes, amused as you felt your own face heat up.

“Maybe you should grab a bite to eat.” He elbowed you with a smile.

“One condition.” You smirked, a plan building up in your mind.

“What’s that?” He frowned.

“Come with me. I rather not leave you. You look like you could use a friend or two.” You smiled at his baffled face.

“Are you saying that you’re my friend?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “Only if you want me to be. So, do you want to come? Mateo will probably come too.”

He paused and chewed on the bottom of his lip as moments passed. You felt your cheeks heat up.

_Maybe I shouldn’t have. He seems like a loner. And you threw him on the spot!_ You sighed. _So much for trying somethi-_

“Yeah.” You looked at him, his rather reserved eyes meeting yours. “I would like that. Dinner. With friends.”

“Yes!” You fist-pumped. “I have to text Meteo. There’s a great spot he was telling me he wanted to visit, there’s food, music and dancing….”

Steve laughed nervously, as if he was afraid of what he was getting into before it morphed to amusement as he watched your eyes glow with excitement for once instead of repressed sadness he was used to.

_Maybe, just maybe. It will be okay to try._ You both thought, unaware of a mutual feeling you both shared.

It was the start of a new adventure, and more importantly, a good friendship.

**Author's Note:**

> We made it to the end guys! I hoped you enjoyed my writing as much as I enjoyed writing them! 😊
> 
> This story in particular started off as a sort of self-help therapeutic writing to help myself through the lows and highs of life while improving with my writing. Especially since I'm not that open with my own emotions to myself from what a therapy session taught me. 
> 
> It is also a place where I can imagine a Latina superheroine Reader seeing how there are so little POV with a Latina Lead here. I always felt like there is an undercurrent that most Reader's POVs is from a white gal's lens.
> 
> I was also into Reader/Steve, so I decided to write a Latina!Reader and hopefully you'll find things here that you might share with this Latina!/Reader who is also empowered!
> 
> I also thought it would be cool if Latina!/Reader was the one to help Steve explore the modern world, especially since I partly grew up in New York City. There will be some things based off myself (Yankee fan ftw!), but don't worry, Mateo is a Mets fan. Things have sure changed since he woke up from ice. Poor Steve, he's probably having his heart broken again after learning the Dodgers left Brooklyn (Baseball team Identity would probably be a big deal, he's a Brooklynite after all). 
> 
> The year he wakes up to is going to be vague as it won't canonically follow the MCU but there will be some plot points I might introduce. It all depends where I want to take "La Amistad" series 😅.
> 
> A big shout out to my hermanita who pushed me to do this! Couldn't have done this without you sis! ;)


End file.
